My Experience Self-Publishing a Novel

Have you ever had a dream? Ever wanted to climb a mountain or compete at the Olympics? What about playing the lead role in your favourite play or visiting a foreign country? Maybe it was something as simple as finding a best friend at your new school. Dreams can be anything you wish to accomplish in your life. They are something to work towards and look forward to. 

All my life, I have been obsessed with stories. Reading them or writing them, it didn’t matter. My brain was filled with ideas and I couldn’t stay fixed on anything. Yet, two summers ago, I had a dream to publish a book. This might seem wild to some. Afterall, most adults don’t even get around to finishing their book. Nevertheless, I was determined to try and follow my dreams. 

Then, the COVID-19 pandemic hit, and everything became virtual. While it was a hard time for everyone, I didn’t mind as much. As an introvert, I preferred the alone time and decided to use it to explore my writing skills. It was then that I started writing The Shifters, a young adult, fantasy, chapter book. 

The Shifters follows the story of Aylin Viotto, a teenage girl with hidden abilities. For many years she has kept her powers a secret from the world…until she joined The Games, an international competition that tests your instincts, combat skills, and quick wit. It is there that she realizes she might not be alone and that the world might be more than it seems. 

At first, The Shifters was a joy to write. I got to imagine a new world from nothing, create characters with vast powers, and design a storyline that I had always dreamed about. There were no limits, no boundaries, no rules. I could write anything I wished. 

It wasn’t always easy. I would spend hours rewriting every sentence, nothing satisfying my need to sound like a professional author. Despite my struggles, my family was always there to support me. My cousins would provide feedback and point out all my missing commas, and my parents would revise every chapter. My biggest supporter was my sister. She read every word I wrote and motivated me to continue writing. I honestly wouldn’t have been able to achieve this without my family’s support. 

Nine months later, I finished the book. Or rather, I finished writing the book. I was nowhere near done. Publishing a book is a process, and writing is only step one. Step two is the editing phase, which many consider a nightmare. It’s tiring and taxing, requiring every ounce of your patience and dedication. It’s a constant struggle of rereading your work and polishing every paragraph. 

While I was immensely proud of my accomplishment, my plotline was riddled with holes that needed fixing. As someone who was writing about eighteen-year-old characters, while only experiencing fourteen years of life, I lacked knowledge on their perspective and lives. All I had was second-hand information. All collected from my family’s memories and built up from the books I’ve read.

I would spend many dinners discussing solutions with my family. This led to new ideas and lots of rewriting.  I’m sure at one point, I drove my family up the wall with all my questions. Then, I would repeat the entire process. Over and over, I would discuss and write, until the story and backstories made sense together. 

Three months later, the editing stage was over, and it was time to move on to self-publishing. This is one of the most daunting stages. It can be a whirlwind of confusion if you don’t know what you’re doing. Unless you’re an artist and feel comfortable designing your own book, you need to find a cover artist and someone to format the pages. Not to mention someone who understands the restrictions on sizing, formatting, printing, and delivering. 

All the credit for this stage goes to my mom. Finding a cover artist, someone to format the novel, and self-publishing was all her work. Without knowing how to do this, the process can be hard, but I had all the support I needed. The next thing I knew, my book was available online and being delivered to my house. 

The feeling of holding your own book in your hands compares to nothing else. All that hardship, scramble, and moments of doubt disappear, forgotten in a blaze of triumph.

That moment of satisfaction, of knowing that you have completed your dream-it opens up so many opportunities and shows you just how much you can accomplish. 

So, if you have a dream, do it. Don’t be afraid of the challenges and trials you will face. As I like to say, the hardest struggles reap the best rewards.